Israel is trying to blaze a favorable trail out of the warfare in the Gaza Strip as its troops continued the ground incursion on Tuesday to deal the biggest possible blow to the Islamist Hamas movement.
"The sooner, the better," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told local daily Ha'aretz when asked when the Israel Defense Forces(IDF) plans to end its operation. "We did not set out to occupy Gaza or kill every terrorist. We set out to bring change to the south."
Reiterating his country has no interest in a long assault in the Palestinian enclave, he said he was in contact with many world leaders in a bid to hammer out a diplomatic solution for the already 11-day-old offensive.
With the latest casualties count in Gaza showing over 670 killed and 3,000 wounded, international pressure is mounting for an immediate ceasefire, of which the most high-profile came from the European Union (EU) and France.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who unsuccessfully proposed an immediate 48-hour humanitarian truce last week, met Olmert and his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres on Monday and urged Israel to revisit the initiative.
While denouncing Hamas rocket attacks as "irresponsible and unforgivable," Sarkozy stressed "time is working against peace" and that "the weapons must be silenced and there must be a temporary humanitarian truce."
Similar voices were also heard from an EU delegation led by Karel Schwarzenberg, foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which took over the rotating EU presidency from France last week.
Yet the European approach, whose rationale is to let an immediate ceasefire open the door for a longer-term truce, failed to catch the eyes of the Jewish state. Peres told the EU delegation that "Europe must open its eyes."
"The results of the operation must be... that Hamas must not only stop firing but must no longer be able to fire," Olmert said to Sarkozy, while urging him to help block a possible UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Wednesday calling for an immediate ceasefire, which Olmert said would be "unwise."
Shrugging off the pressure from her European counterparts, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel has to "change the equation" in which Hamas fires at Israel and Israel responds with restraint, and that presently even a UNSC resolution would not stop Israel from realizing its goal.
Israel's defiance did not mean that the Jewish state is not looking for a way out of the clashes. Voices are growing louder at home for a lull in the midst of fears that the operation, which started with clearly defined limited goals, might turn into a futile attempt to eliminate Hamas.
"We will hold our fire under two conditions: one is an end to the arms smuggling from Sinai (of Egypt) into Gaza, and the other is the cessation of all terror activity, not just the rocket fire," said Olmert on Tuesday, echoing similar remarks from Peres.
While speculations circulated that Israel's ideal goal would be to root up Hamas, many analysts said the realistic one, in light of Hamas' about 20,000-member force and wide popularity among Gazans, is to reach a lasting ceasefire on more favorable conditions and at the same time weaken Hamas as hard as possible.
Six Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ground incursion began on Saturday, and the Israeli troops are being engaged in fierce fighting with Gazan militants in densely populated areas, casualties on the Israeli side are likely to increase.
While mourning for those killed, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the IDF would push ahead with the assault until realizing the set goals, which are to end the rocket attacks against southern Israel, to deal Hamas a heavy blow and to restore quiet and security to the southern land.
Despite the devastating Israeli strikes, Gazan militants have continued firing rockets and mortar shells, and the increasing range has put Tel Aviv just 30 km away from such threat. Four Israelis have been killed in such attacks since Israel kicked off the so-called Operation Cast Lead on Dec. 27.
What is notable is that the number of rocket attacks from Gaza has been decreasing over the past several days, partly confirming the assessments made by the IDF and Shin Bet security agency that Hamas has sustained significant damage.
When the ground maneuver was launched on Saturday, the IDF said it was aimed to intensify the heavy blow Hamas had received in the previous week of massive airstrikes.
Israeli officials have reportedly said current diplomatic efforts are directed to buying a few more days for the IDF to further advance its mission, which mirrors speculations that Israel is trying to give Hamas the hardest possible punch before it bows to international pressure and signs any ceasefire agreement.
While heading off the EU truce proposal, Israel is taking efforts to garner support for an initiative proposed by the United States, its staunch ally, which has been backing Israel's Gaza offensive out of what President George W. Bush said an understanding of "Israel's desire to protect itself."
The U.S. State Department said Tuesday Washington wants "an immediate ceasefire that is durable, sustainable and not time-limited."
Any ceasefire must tackle efforts to secure an end to rocket attacks on Israel, open international border crossings with Gaza and stop weapons to Hamas through tunnels along the border with Egypt, said its spokesman Sean McCormack.
Such an immediate ceasefire differs from the one that many Arab and other countries are pressing for, which is not based on the same conditions. As gaps remain large, it is widely expected that the UNSC meeting on Wednesday would not pass any resolution.
Source:Xinhua
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